Western cyclone., 1887-01-27

| body whose laughing voice across the
waters was nearer every minute
body whose hands were on my shout
derS, whose eyes, l felt, were on INV
face somebody who had never forgot
| ten me-Bobbery!
Robbery! BObbery!" cried, and
l stretched out my arms to him.
Robbery said: II came over in a
tub-only think! such a lark! but as
climbed it at the window our tub drift
ed away, and however we're to get over
can't tell"
''You must think of something" [
said. Robbery. it was long day"
"Why, Of course it was" Robbery an
swered. without me. Come along, the
rivers rising like fury"
sis it very wide?" | asked
20, not more'n good stretch from
here to the dry land, but deep. over six
feet, should say, and rising"
But the bed, Robbery" | said. land
the other things
"Well, we must just leave them until
it's al right again"
|WIll it ever be all right?" | asked.
"Why, yes, of course" said Robbery.
He was such splendid chap, sir. was
Robbery. and so clever He took the
two chairs that were drifting about the
room and tied them close together, and
then we waded across to the window
and stood upon the sill.
81 think it's jolly good fun" said
| Robbery. If you could only sec now
your boats bobbling up and down in
front here! Get III quick. or can't
hold her. Here! port her helm, or some
thing! Are you all rght?"
ITS splendid. said come along"
But when Robbery put his foot on the
unsteady raft she went down on one
side with q plunge. Never mind" he
said; you've just got to push yourself
ashore with this pole as straight as you
can go, and l will follow"
thought that was true or never
would have left Robbery. took the
pole he gave me and went out on the
restless waters that felt were blOOd-red
where the setting sun had touched them.
People on tie opposite side cheered, and
cried. and called me, and Robbery be-
hind called out once or twice Ship
ahOy!' in Il shrill voice that | knew and
loved better than anything on earth.
and once / heard him say faintly-he
seemed so far away--''ln port at last"
AT last!
The people on shore ceased their
shouts Of excitement and encourage
ment; the light had died utterly away.
In an awful silence and an awful
darkness | jumped to land and held out
my hands.
Robbery! Robbery" cried, II
want to thank you"
Did Robbery hear. sir, do you think?
Do people hear anything, do people I'M
der6tanG anything after they have gone
awRyP
l only know that the awful silence
was turning me 10 stone, that the awful
darkness was rising like stone wall
between me and BObbery-and [ was
afraid. When called no one answered,
and was glad. If his voice was silent
any other voice would have maddened
me just then, and l wanted nothing
more to tell me tho truth. l learned
through the silence on land and sea
how God had answered my prayer.
They told me afterward how the
plank he was launching to help himself
to the shore drifted away from his hand
and was out of sight directly, how they
would have saved him if they could,
and how. when they began to shout to
him directions, he made sign for sill
ence and stood straight upon the sill,
with the sunset creeping all about him
and the waters washing at his feet
They wondered why he had made no of
fort to reach the shore with me-they
used to wonder for long after why he
stood SO silent, with his eager eyes and
| restless feet so strangely still, knew, of
course; but what rlghtha any one else
to come between me and Robbery? 1t
wouldn't have done any one any good
to know what | knew-that Robbery
wouldn't let me lose the faintest chance;
thought my blind. helpless life quite as
well worth saving rs his own. l would
have done the same for him, sir, any
day-for Robbery and me were always
fond of each other.
The story'S been longer than /
thought. sir. but just the evening, and
the floods again, and your wanting to
know about the cross, brought it back
to me like the same evening somehow
An it's company like to talk of the
lad.
And Bobhery9 he just died. sir. and
the folks thought such deal of him
that they collected bit to set me up,
and took half of the money just to put
up this little cross by the river side-for
we always divided the coppers, sir, and
| haven't forgotten him-not in these
two years!
That's all. sir-just all about Bob
bery.-Harpcr'S BGzar.